Reaching Out to God

or

Explaining Adoration

Now, in the midst of this Frankenstorm hammering our nation, and on the eve of the most important election of our lifetime next week, is a good time for discussing reaching out to God, our Creator and our Father.

Americans and Prayer

Most Americans believe in God and pray regularly (82%) .
82% of Americans say that God answers their prayers.
But how many realize the extent of the power they hold in their hands?
And how many realize that there are some particularly powerful ways to pray?

We can get quite invested in the best, most effective ways to provide disaster relief for hurricanes, or campaign help for our favorite candidates, as well as getting pretty invested in the details of our personal wealth management, yet we often forget to investigate what is available to us in the realm of tapping into the power of God.  And if Hurricane Sandy is anything to go by, that power is more than anything we ourselves could ever hope to muster by human effort.

Some abandon the idea of prayer, claiming that their prayers have not been answered in the past. The fact that God has not always given you what you want does not mean that He is not there, or that you cannot tap into His power if you approach Him the right way.  Presumably your parents did not always give you what you wanted, particularly if you did not approach them in the right way, and you have not concluded that your parents do not exist.

How Does One Approach God?

Children learn early to get what they want by approaching those who have power over their lives with any number of techniques; demanding, cajoling, begging, charming, repeating, persuading, throwing tantrums, hugging and kissing, and innumerable other ways.  Now I’m not suggesting that we treat God in a calculating way or that we try to outsmart Him, but we really should acknowledge that some approaches might be more or less endearing, as we approach God for the things we want.

A humble and loving plea might be more effective than an angry demand.  An understanding that we don’t always get what we want is also essential.  Asking nicely, the way we were taught (“Our Father, Who art in heaven”… and “Do this in memory of Me”) is another important element.  Finally, the extent to which we have been behaving or mis-behaving might influence the outcome of our request.  Acting like we know better than God knows and setting the conditions, are about as likely to work on God, as they are to work on parents.

The point here is to realize that tapping into the power of God should include love, cooperation and effort; at least as much love, cooperation and effort as we expend on our sweetheart/parents/siblings, friends, favorite Rock star, Hollywood figure or politician, when we approach them.
Good luck getting something from your family if you have been violating their ethics, neglecting them, and perhaps even kicking them around for years.

How Catholics Bring Out the Big Guns When It Comes to Prayer

This is why Catholics revere the tradition that has been handed down to us, and do not shy away from giving God the time, effort and “bling” that we give to humans whom we respect or love; to our sweethearts, to our presidents and to our monarchs.

For centuries, Catholics have especially valued, and have documented the success and the power of two types of prayer; the Rosary, and Adoration.

But few non-Catholics, and even few Catholics, have much in-depth understanding of these prayers.  And lack of understanding leads to lack of utilization.  Sometimes, total miscomprehension even leads to ridicule of these prayers.  Check the Wisconsin State Journal discussion forums for a good dose of ridicule of Catholic tradition whenever Catholicism comes up.

Adoration

Today, I went to Adoration.  That’s what I do for an hour every week.  That’s what over 300 Madison Catholics do every week.  In fact, Madison’s Cathedral Parish has Perpetual Adoration, which goes on 24/7, with people taking shifts, so that prayer before the Blessed Sacrament in Madison is continual and uninterrupted, day and night.  This has now been going on for over 6 years, since Feb 12, 2006.

Why on earth do Catholics do Adoration, and what does it accomplish?

Some Fundamental Facts

If you acknowledge that God exists, by definition He is more powerful than anything we can imagine, including Hurricane Sandy and Barack Obama.
He can do anything He wants, including slowing down a hurricane before it hits land.

If you acknowledge that Christ was the Son of God, Christ demonstrates clearly two things:
God loves us.
God interacts with us.
He just might have wanted to leave us something of Himself, with which humanity can interact for millennia.

Last Supper from Holy Redeemer Church altar,
Madison, WI

If you acknowledge the Bible, then Christ chose to leave us a great deal more than just a holy book compiled 300 years after Christ’s presence on earth.  He left us His Real Presence in Holy Communion.
This is spelled out in no uncertain terms in John 6:50-71, where Christ says:

“unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you.”

When Jesus’ followers balked at this literal description of the Eucharist, Jesus persisted, to the point where many of His disciples abandoned following Him.  Yet Jesus did not call them back or retract what He had said. There was no question of His intent regarding the presence of His Body and His Blood in Communion.  This teaching was so important that Christ did not change it to keep disciples from leaving.

Why Would God Choose to Stay On As Communion?

Without a long theological discussion, is not God who rules the universe (and Hurricane Sandy) capable of changing anything He wants into anything He wants?
Who are we to question His choice to leave us His Real Presence in the form of Communion, His Body and Blood, the Bread of Life?
Would we prefer He left us nothing at all?

Or just a Holy Bible compiled 300 years after His Ascension?
Would we prefer there was no Ascension and He stayed on forever, attending White House dinners and organizing peace talks (and getting crucified over and over again)?
Would we prefer He left us little replicas of Himself, like little live Barbie dolls?
Would these have been any easier to believe?
Those who don’t want to follow Christ’s teachings will disbelieve anything Christ might have arranged for us.

But being realistic, it was not our choice. It was God’s.
My suggestions are obviously silly.
And, if you analyze other possibilities, God’s was the wisest one.
Leave them your Real Presence, which the poorest of the poor can access and which can be replenished throughout history.
Ingredients: bread and wine.
Consecration: by a priest, ordained in unbroken succession from the Apostles themselves.

So What Do We Do With the Real Presence of God?

Well, aside from all the usual things that Catholics do with the Real Presence of God, like attending the miracle transubstantiation every Sunday at Mass, and “eating the flesh of the Son of Man and drinking his blood” as we were commanded in John 6, we also treat the Real Body and Blood of Christ like the real person Christ which it is.

We preserve it in fancy tabernacles in our Churches, where people can go pray when they feel the need to be closer to God.
We take it to feed to the sick and dying, who cannot come to Mass to receive Communion.
We also place it in beautiful blingy golden vessel called a monstrance, for adoration and for prayer.  Seeing the Body of Christ while you pray to Him is better than doing it remotely from some alternate location.  This is called Adoration.

The effort it takes to go sit with Christ for an hour in person gives us an opportunity to demonstrate a personal love and care for Christ, in response to His plea during His Passion,

What, could ye not watch with me one hour? – Matthew 26:40,

when Christ found his disciples sleeping during the Agony in the Garden.
Sitting with Christ one hour is the least we can do in thanksgiving for what Christ did for us.
We have the opportunity to watch with Christ at His Passion.  Christ is outside of time.

Adoration

So Adoration is an opportunity to face Christ face-to-face.
To visit Him.
To adore Him.
To spend time quietly with God.
To make special requests from Him.
To thank Him.
To say anything you want to say to Him.
To simply sit silently in the Presence of God.

To treat God more personally and with more love than just abrupt telepathic thought bytes sent mentally from some harried location.
Adoration is the opportunity to visit Christ in person, the way you would visit anyone whom you love and whom you miss.

What Do We Get From Adoration?

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Well, we should not get in the habit of viewing God only as what we can get from Him; as we hopefully don’t do to sweethearts, parents, and siblings.
But we do actually get lots of benefits from Adoration.
As a Diocese, Seminarians are one of the biggest benefits we get from Adoration.  The Dioceses of Madison has gone from having about 4 seminarians, to having over 30 seminarians, during the time that Perpetual Adoration has been going on in Madison.  It is well known among Catholics that wherever Perpetual Adoration is found, Catholicism flourishes and priestly vocations abound.  Very true at Madison’s Cathedral Parish, which has no shortage of members, children, seminarians, or budget.  The parish is thriving and is unbelievably blessed.

The benefits coming from Adoration are not just parish-wide or Diocese-wide.  Personal requests and pleas to God can also be brought to Adoration, with the confidence that God will provide a solution.

The solution is not always magical, although it can be.  At very least, God provides understanding, patience and peace of mind to all who bring their troubles to Adoration.
In six years, I have never been disappointed when bringing a problem to Adoration.  I leave with peace of mind, and often in less than a day, a solution to my problem presents itself.

Needless to say, I’ve been bringing the Nov 6^th election to God in recent weeks when I go to Adoration.  I’m not the only one; I even know of some Madison Catholics who, instead of watching the Presidential debates on TV, sat in prayer at Adoration during the debates.  Today, I brought Hurricane Sandy and it’s victims to prayer at Adoration.

So that brings us back to the first point: Reaching Out to God.
This week all Americans should join the prayer effort, putting more time, more thought and more sincerity into our prayers this week.  Adoration is a great way to do this.

Who Can Go to Adoration?

Anybody can go to Adoration.  You don’t have to be Catholic.  All are welcome, as long as they maintain a respectful and quiet demeanor.  You can run in for a couple minutes, or you can stay for an hour.  You can go to Madison’s Perpetual Adoration chapel, (info on the Cathedral Parish website), or you can go into any Catholic Church and kneel or sit in front of the closed tabernacle.  The Tabernacle always contains the Eucharist, and the Presence of Christ is indicated by a small lamp near the Tabernacle.  Anybody can go there to pray.

Tabernacle at Holy Redeemer Church,
Madison, Wi

Remember to Use the Ultimate Weapon, Prayer, this Week.
Particularly Adoration.
It’s Crucial.  

Catholic Belief Now Defined by Media and Sociologists?

Doug Erickson and Michele Dillon

This Sunday, reporter Doug Erickson and Sociology professor Michele Dillon attempted to define Catholic beliefs without consulting the Catholic Church.

The Wisconsin State Journal Progressive, in its usual presumptive manner, has bypassed reality and offered their Wisconsin readership a fantasy, in which Catholic Church doctrine is not longer determined by the teachings of Jesus Christ or by the Magisterium of the Church with the Pope and Bishops, but doctrine is declared up for grabs by the individual, and “Cafeteria Catholicism” is encouraged.

Doug Erickson’s article on the 50th anniversary of the Second Vatican Council bypasses  contacting the Catholic Church, the Bishop of Madison, or the Vatican, and relies on the word of one dissident Catholic, a professor of sociology from New Hampshire, to interpret the meaning of Vatican II.  And MIS-interpret she does.

Cafeteria Catholicism as about as valid as cafeteria mathematics, cafeteria medicine, or cafeteria law.  The teachings of mathematics, or of medicine, or of the law are not subject to the whims of individuals, and those who misrepresent a discipline are doing a disservice to all.

The article goes beyond Wisconsin State Journal’s and Doug Erickson’s usual imbalanced reporting and misrepresentation of the Church this time by completely omitting any input at all from religious experts of the Catholic Church.

• The Catholic Church has actually organized a year’s worth of events to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Vatican II.  The commemoration is called the Year of Faith, is listed on the Vatican website, and Doug Erickson missed this; the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops provides information and videos on the Year of Faith, and Doug Erickson apparently missed these.
• The Diocese of Madison has a year’s worth of events scheduled around the Year of Faith, listed on the Diocesan web page, and Doug Erickson also missed this.
• Madison’s Cathedral Parish has a year’s worth of homilies and discussion groups planned on the documents of Vatican II, listed on the website, and Doug Erickson, again, has missed this.
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  This hat-trick is remarkable.

Bishop Morlino stands with Pope Benedict

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Listen to Bishop Morlino’s homily today for his reaction to this article and on their misrepresentation of Vatican II.

For additional accurate information on Vatican II, Monsignor Holmes, rector of Madison’s Cathedral Parish, has also scheduled about 20 homilies on the documents of Vatican II.  The first two of this series are available on the parish website at Revelation and Faith and at Scripture, Tradition and Magisterium.

The Wisconsin State Journal and Doug Erickson should stop masquerading as religion reporters who “explore matters of faith, values and ethics in Wisconsin”, and should be truthful about their attempts to misrepresent Catholicism and undermine the wisdom of the Catholic Church, or they should at least do a little research.

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Are We There Yet?

or

Hamburger Pollution

18-Wheeler Pollution

A startling fact from the University of California, Riverside Today:

An 18-wheeler diesel-engine truck would have to drive 143 miles on the freeway to put out the same mass of particles as a single charbroiled hamburger patty.

This factoid struck me as remarkable.  A modern 18-wheeler apparently produces impressively low levels of pollution.  (Alternatively, we are all producing a shockingly large quantity of pollution every time we cook dinner!) In actual fact, during the last two decades, engine researchers (like my husband) have reduced the pollution emitted by on-road vehicles 100-fold.

The Cost of Clean Exhaust

In order to achieve this remarkably low pollution, the after-treatment system on the 18-wheeler now costs as much as the engine itself, and doubles the cost of the engine.  The cost of a $10,000 engine rises to $20,000, with the addition of after-treatment equipment, which eliminates pollutants.

If transcontinental diesel trucks now produce less pollution than cooking a dinner, at what point should the government stop requiring additional expensive emission controls?  Should the rising expense of after-treatment systems motivate us to limit the degree to which we seek to eliminate pollution?  Our entire economy relies on shipping and associated costs, so it’s important to ask this question.  When is the exhaust of a vehicle “clean enough?” and when does it become too expensive to clean exhaust any further?  Are we “there” yet?

What Else Will Be Regulated For Pollution?
Will They Regulate Hamburgers?

We all appreciate the 100-fold reduction in on-road vehicle emissions achieved through research in the last few decades.  Our air in the United States has really been cleaned up. A series of Clean Air Acts have resulted in very significant reductions of pollutants, including the reduction of particulate emissions by about 80%.

But the UC Riverside Today article, after remarking on the low emissions of 18-wheelers, embarked on discussing the regulation of particulates emitted by commercial char broilers in Los Angeles.
This raises quite a few questions; one wouldn’t think that people making dinner could contribute significantly to pollution, could it?
Is such regulation really necessary?
What will people do if cooking emissions come under government regulation?
Will Burger King’s char broiling machinery go up $10,000 in cost?
How much more will the Whopper cost?   Will the cost double?
What else in our daily lives pollutes, and what else may eventually become subject to regulation?
How much regulation is really necessary?

Getting Some Perspective

I did a bit of homework on emissions to put things into perspective, to see how much we might be contributing to particle emissions when we cook hamburgers for dinner, or through other daily life activities.

I collected and summarized United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) particulate emissions data  in the table and pie chart below:

Here are the main sources of particles, which pollute the quality of our air in the United States, and the percentage each contributes to the pollution:

 Which are the Biggest Polluters?

Dust seems to be the biggest culprit, contributing 34% of all particulates in the U.S.

But it seems like dust would be challenging to control; how would we control dust? By controlling the weather? Or by prohibiting vehicle use on roads?
Dust is also the most inert of particles, and is the least harmful to our health.
This might be the reason people rarely talk about controlling dust particulates.

Next comes non-automotive fuel combustion, including furnaces and boilers, which contribute 25% to the nation’s pollution.  Clearly an area where some improvement could be achieved, if improvement is needed.  But at what cost to the homeowner?  And would after-treament systems be affordable by the average American?

The two items we started out discussing, diesel trucks (on-road mobile) and char broiled hamburgers (commercial cooking), seem at this point in time to be the lowest contributors to pollution, contributing only 3% and 2% respectively.

A pie chart makes it easier to visualize:

This picture illustrates that both on-road vehicles and commercial cooking are now minor contributors to pollution in the United States.  If, indeed, we need to continue further air cleanup, you would not think from the above pie chart that on-road vehicles or commercial cooking would be the place to look for more reductions.

Some Questions Raised by these Charts

The initial surprising suggestion by UC Riverside Today was that government may start regulating pollution produced by a hamburger.

First of all, we have to determine whether further air cleanup is necessary.

We’ve already cleaned up 99% of the on-road automotive pollution, and reduced particulates by 80%.

Isn’t that enough cleanup? Can we quit?

In Madison, WI, where I live, the answer might be yes.
The air always looks and smells clean.
People not only cook hamburgers, both inside and barbequing outside, but they use fire pits as well; kind of like an urban campfire, just for fun.  We would be pretty upset if the government tried to tell us that we could no longer broil a hamburger in our backyards.

US Air Quality; Green =low pollution, Red = High pollution

But there are places where smog and air quality problems still do exist, like Los Angeles.  Clearly, air quality there should continue to be of concern.  Based on the pie chart, however, I would wonder whether going after commercial cooking (2% of national pollution) is the right way to go.  Shouldn’t they be looking at furnaces and boilers (25%), industrial processes (9%), agriculture (4%), and so on?

To Regulate or Not To Regulate, That Is the Question

There are trade-offs between a clean environment and the potential economic disaster caused by increasing the price of cars, char broilers, home furnaces and other sources of pollution.   And national politics should not dictate the healthy balance.  This should rather be done locally, through supply and demand, not by government mandates, which are developed for downtown Los Angeles and are then applied indiscriminately to Wisconsin farmlands.

We face the question: At what point do we decide that our air is clean enough, and that parents don’t have to put their children in day-care and get a second job to pay for government-mandated green gadgets on the family car and home furnace?

Requiring an entire nation to buy high-tech solutions regulating every aspect of daily life, including the cooking of hamburgers, which are actually only needed in a few specific locations, is tremendous potential source of waste.

Time to Take It Local?

This is one of the reasons why federal control of our lives is never optimal, and we should seek opportunities to make local choices.  Local control of everything, from medical care, to pollution control, and to choice of sex ed curriculum in schools, benefits the nation.  Customization eliminates the need for supplying costly materials to those who don’t need them, and imposing expensive or otherwise cumbersome regulations on those who do not need them.

Good Time to Back Off Regulation?

2012, with present unemployment levels and the state of our economy, might be a good time to consider whether we have had enough government regulation.  The question should be reexamined before regulatory agencies get carried away and double the price of everything we need to buy.  Cars already have a prohibitive price tag.  Do we add to that doubling the price of furnaces, stoves, lawn mowers, electricity, and food, clothing and shelter, which depend on the transportation of materials across our nation?

Looking at the pie chart at the beginning of this article makes it clear that living pollutes.
Cooking pollutes.
Staying warm pollutes.
Growing crops pollutes.
People pollute.
Existing pollutes.

So, unless we propose forced limitation of population growth (forced contraception and abortion; hello, China!), or unless you propose that we all move into caves (but we’d still be polluting with our campfires), or unless you propose that we forbid travel to reduce road dust, we have to face the fact that humans pollute.  How much of our “pollution” is natural and acceptable, and when is enough regulation enough?

Finally, when should regulation be returned to the local level?

 More Things to Consider

Pollution or particulates are not the sole consideration governing our use of energy and it’s regulation.  Questions of limited supply, foreign dependence, CO2 production and possible global warming, are also considerations.

These will be the subjects of future blog posts; stay tuned.

Are We There Yet?

For now, the answer to the question “Are we there yet?” might just be, that for much of the United States, “Yes, we’re almost there.”  At least regarding pollution.

Without too much of a spoiler, a hint: we’re doing a lot better in the other areas than the media would have us think.

Our President or Dirty Old Man?

The Obama campaign is now approving sexually suggestive You Tube advertising aimed at 18 year old girls.
That bears repeating.  A 51-year-old President is pitching sex to 18 year old girls.

NOTE: Now in 2018 YOU TUBE lists this link as “Video Unavailable.” Somebody figured out this was not a good idea.
Transcript of Obama’s words available at OBAMA CAMPAIGN TO GIRLS

The latest Obama ad mimics one of Vladimir Putin’s ads from February, in which Putin asked voters for their political virginity.

Putin’s February 2012 ad

Obama’s ad, “The First Time,” is more straightforward than Putin’s. Young actress Lena Dunham faces the camera and says, “Your first time shouldn’t be with just anybody. You want to do it with a great guy.”

The Obama campaign might have thought the now-infamous ad would be “cool,” or might attract young women’s votes.
Miscalculation! Attract attention, yes.  Votes?  No.

Obama has managed to gross America out:
Obama is promoting promiscuity. Parents won’t like that.
Obama is flirting with 18-year-old virgins.  He is 33 years older than them.  YUK!
Obama is double-crossing his wife. Is Michelle loving this?
Obama is scandalizing his daughters. Imagine your father trying to being publicly “sexy?” Double YUK!
With girls almost your age? Triple YUK!
Obama is trivializing democracy and the vote.
Obama is insulting the intelligence of young women.
Obama is betraying his too-close association with Vladimir Putin, reminding us that he will “have more flexibility” after the election.

Who is likely to respond positively to this ad?
Of 132 million voters who voted in 2008, who will find this ad persuasive?
Men? Strike 61 million votes.
Mothers? Strike 35 million votes.
Young women?
Strike the serious Christians, the fiscally responsible ladies and all pro-life women.
What does that leave Mr. Obama with?
Maybe a handful of promiscuous flakes who have a thing for men almost 3 times their age.

This ad betrays more about Obama than we want to know.
To Obama, women are just a bunch of “lady parts” attached to a very low-I.Q. head, whose vote he thinks he can buy for a few free pills or for a few cheap thrills.

Barack Obama called himself “eye candy” on “The View”

Obama also seems to suffer the delusion that he is “eye candy” for the ladies.

Bad move, Mr. President.
You are grossing the nation out.

Breitbart.com summarizes the Obama campaign- “more interested in binders, Big Bird, birth control, and “bullshi**er” as opposed to exploding gas prices and increased poverty.”
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Now we can add “Perv” to Obama’s list of embarrassing interests.

Philanderer-in-Cheif?

Democrat Thugs.  In Wisconsin.  Again.

or

God Help Us In This Election!

Early Friday morning, Oct 19th, a young man was beaten by Democrat thugs in Whitewater, Wisconsin.  He was beaten because he caught two thugs removing the Romney/Ryan sign in his front yard at 2 AM, and he demanded they return it.  After being choked and beaten, he was rescued by a neighbor, who called an ambulance, and the young man was hospitalized with possible skull and eye socket fractures. The young man happened to be Sean Kedzie, son of Wisconsin State Senator Niel Kedzie.  A young man who saves lost dogs and shares his bedroll with them.

Sean Kedzie with Mazzy, the dog he saved

This was not reported by the Wisconsin State Journal.  Breitbart.com, a national conservative website,  reported it first, on Monday, October 22 (caution: graphic photo; Wisconsin Senator’s Son Beaten to a Pulp by Obama Thugs).

As of this morning, the Wisconsin State Journal , or the WSJ Progressive, as I have renamed it, had still not reported it.  Around noon today, a short article was published at Madison.com, entitled Police Investigating Attack on Senator’s Son.  The article is just 6 lines long, gives little information, and does not mention Democrats or hate crimes. The title and the “article” are designed to help sweep this event under the rug. In Madison, liberal thugs are always protected.

This boorish behavior by Democrats, followed by media and police turning a blind eye, is reminiscent of the Madison Teacher’s Union demonstrations which took over Madison’s Capitol building in early 2011, and during which police and newspapers neglected to challenge the unlawful destructive behavior of unruly mobs and of legislators who were breaking laws to prevent the democratic passage of legislation.

Let us hope that Democrats lose extraordinarily on November 6th!
Wisconsin cannot take this any longer.
The United States cannot take this any longer.
We need civilized people at the helm.

The Democrat party, which used to champion many important social causes in the past, including pro-life positions held by Bill Clinton, Ted Kennedy, Harry Reid, Joe Biden, and  Al Gore, has in recent years turned into a group of uncivilized radicals who lie, cheat, and fight dirty.  They are about to turn the United States into a one party system, because America is

Thug-in-Chief

getting disgusted with their paid union thug tactics, their Alinsky tactics, and their lies.  Even President Obama has shown an unprofessional level of petty aggressiveness and lies, particularly in the recent debates.

The Democrat Party is shooting themselves in the foot.  I predict an abysmal failure for them in the coming election.  America has had it with them.  During President Romney’s next two terms, I hope Democrats can purge themselves of union radicals, of progressives, and of pro-aborts, and return to offering a compassionate and civilized alternative to voters in the United States.  The Democratic Party needs a major revamping.  They have gone over the edge.

Our thoughts, our prayers, and our best wishes are with Sean Kedzie and his family.
A political martyr in Wisconsin.
Who would have believed that?
Of course, few will find out, the way the Wisconsin State Journal handled it.
Let’s see  how well the police do in catching the thugs.

Madison’s Stand Up for Religious Freedom

Stand Up for Religious Freedom rally
State Capitol building, downtown Madison, WI
October 20, 2012

Beautiful fall day, Farmer’s Market around the Capitol

Speeches and prayers

Wouldn’t be Madison without the occasional angry heckler…

Nice to have these guys around! Thanks, officers.

Hey, even the heckler’s heart was moved when we started singing “America the Beautiful!” He joined us. 🙂

Bumper stickers to take home

Some more photos from Tom Reitz of Reitz Internet:

Women oppose the HHS Mandate

Thanks, Father Rick!

Thanks for the great photos, Tom!

Come Stand Up For Religious Freedom

The next Stand Up for Religious Freedom Rally takes place on Saturday, October 20 – just 17 days before the general election.  Join us at Rally sites nationwide as we fight to restore religious freedom in the United States!

Rally Info & Locations: Stand Up for Religious Freedom.com

Why Should I Go?

It’s Simple:

It’s Not Just For Catholics- Atheists Should Be Worried, Too

Or Why Even Atheists Should Stand Against Presidential Mandates

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If Presidents of the future will be permitted to issue mandates like the HHS Mandate, without popular vote, without Senate or House vote, and without Supreme Court evaluation, what mandate will the NEXT President of the United States, who may not belong to your favorite political affiliation, decree?

I may not like President Obama’s mandates.
But others, including atheists, would not like President Romney’s mandates

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Where’s the Rally in Madison?

The Madison, WI rally is on the State Street steps of the State Capitol building in downtown Madison, WI.
Noon on Saturday, October 20, 2012.
During the Farmer’s Market!
Come and join us!

Agnostics welcome.
Atheists welcome.
Baptists welcome.
Buddhists welcome.
Catholics welcome.
Evangelicals welcome.
Jews welcome.
Lutherans welcome.
Muslims welcome.
Presbyterians welcome.
All welcome, including any not mentioned above.
Invitation limited to well-behaved people who respect the rights of others.

The Debates:
Getting Past the Theatrics;
Going Right to the Substance

or

It’s Not Fixed

(Addendum below)

First, a Short Word On the Theatrics

The performances so far have been most entertaining.

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Romney mopped the floor with Obama in the first presidential debate; even the liberal press agreed.  Chris Matthews, not too pleased with Obama’s performance, had an epic meltdown, live, on MSNBC.

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During the vice presidential debate last week, Biden put on a performance that elicited speculations on dementia  and drunkenness, as well as a three-minute roast by the usually very liberal Saturday Night Live.

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No comedy act, however, topped the actual video of the Vice President’s performance:

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Poised for more mayhem in the second presidential debate last night, I was somewhat relieved to find that a certain degree of sanity was restored.

President Obama no longer looked like a deer in the headlights, and with the exception of one Drudge Report photo, he did not nervously leer, make faces at his opponent or the cameras (much), as Biden had done last week.

Well, Romney isn’t looking; let me just give him a quick evil eye…

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But now back to the substance!

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Cuttting Through the Folly

More important than laughing or wondering at the performances, is to cut through the folly, and to analyze the substance.

And the substance consists of two major components in this election: policy and reliability.

Policy –  how do the candidates and their party propose to solve our biggest problems today?

Reliability– will the candidates and their parties actually do what they say they will do, or are the candidates liars?

Policy – What Do Voters Say America Needs?

Yesterday’s MSNBC leading headline read:  What readers want answered at the presidential debate: Gas prices, Social Security, jobs.

Translation: Economy is the primary problem facing our nation and concerning our voters today.

Aside: Some Americans, myself included, believe that abortion is the primary problem/issue facing our nation.  That economy is actually dependent upon abortion. That a nation that kills its own children cannot prosper.  That no amount of economic prosperity can justify the killing of 54 million human beings.  That economic prosperity will not be bestowed on a nation that defies God’s fundamental commandments.  But, although correct, that is not the dominating mainstream thought, and is a subject for a future blog article. 

Back to Economy, the primary problem readers wanted answered at last night’s presidential debate.

Obama-Biden Economic Policy 

The Obama-Biden team proposes to solve economic problems by raising taxes on the rich, in contrast to Ryan and Romney’s plans to solve economic problems by cutting spending, and cutting taxes, in order to create jobs, which would generate an expanding economy, resulting in increased government revenue.

Biden’s statement one week before the October 11^th debate outlined and clarified the Obama-Biden position on the economy:
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Biden clearly stated their intention to let the trillion dollar “Bush” tax cuts expire, effectively raising $1 Trillion worth of taxes.   The tax cuts would only be extended for all households earning less than $250,000 per year, so those households would have no effective tax hike.  The $1 Trillion tax would be paid only by people earning $250,000 or more per year.

The Slogan is catchy:
$1 Trillion Tax Hike for Top Earners

Sounds like a great idea, doesn’t it?
We get Scrooge McDuck to fork over all the extra money we want to spend.
But is that possible?
Will it produce enough money to cover Obama’s spending?
How much will we be taking from the “rich guys”?

How will the “rich guys” respond to this maneuver?
Let’s look at some details.

Also, look at Thou Shalt Not Kill They Neighbor’s Cow 

Reality Check- Simple Arithmetic

We want to take $1 Trillion from the rich, the top 1.5 %, those who earn over $250,000 per year.
Let’s see how much we have to take from each one, and what that will do to them.

First of all, Biden misled us with his $1 Trillion claim, since his proposal is to raise $1 Trillion of taxes over 4 years, not over 1 year.

So we are trying to take an extra $0.25 Trillion per year from the “rich guys.”

That won’t dent Obama’s annual $1.3 Trillion deficit much, but let’s continue with the analysis, because it leads to a surprising place.

For data on how many rich guys there are, and how much money they have, we looked at the Tax Foundation’s Data Tables.  They don’t list Obama-Biden’s top 1.5%ers who earn $250,000 per year or more, but they do list the 1%ers, who earn $340,000 per year or more.  Close enough for our purposes.  The two sets of numbers are not likely to differ too much.

The top 1% group has a combined Adjusted Gross Income of $1.3 Trillion, of which they already pay 24%, or $0.3 Trillion in tax per year.  In order to raise another 0.25 Trillion from this group as Biden proposes, they would have to be taxed an additional 19%, almost a doubling of their Federal tax bill.  Their federal tax would go up from 24% to 43%.

Jaguar XF ($82,000)

So, the small businessman or doctor who now earns $340,000 per year already pays $82,000 in Federal income tax per year.  Yes, that’s right, each small businessman or doctor first gives the federal government the equivalent of a Jaguar XF every year.  Add Social Security, Medicare, and State and Local tax deductions, and rich guy’s annual take-home pay becomes about $227,000.  Now he has given Uncle Sam about $113,000 per year; a Mercedes SL55AMG every year. (This car can do 155 mph.)  On top of this now, the Obama-Biden proposal would raise these people’s federal taxes an additional 19% and would mean an additional $65,000 in taxes for that household.  This would bring down their take-home income to $162,000.  The total given over to the government would be $178,000 per year; like buying the government an Aston Martin DB9 Volante every year.  This household is left with 48% take-home pay of $162,000 per year, after they started with $340,000.

Aston Martin DB9 Volante ($178,000)

This also changes the proportion of taxes that the 1%ers pay.  Right now, as a group, they pay 37% of all federal income taxes.  Yes, the 1% pays 37% of our bills.  The new Obama-Biden proposal would change this to the 1%ers paying 66% of all of America’s federal taxes.  WOW!

Doubling a Household’s Federal Income Tax

How many Americans in any income bracket can afford to have their federal taxes doubled and to have their take-home pay reduced to 48%?

Most people earning upwards of $250,000 don’t work 9-to-5 for a boss.  Not too many bosses are that generous with salaries. Many of these “rich guys” own a small business and are working long hours.  Evenings and weekends.  Others are medical doctors, who are running an office and are paying off medical school loans.  Whether they are businesses or doctors, they will have to come up with the extra $65,000 Obama and Biden want somewhere.  Guess where that will be?  They will hire less help at the business or office, and they will cancel any plans of expansion.  Their actions will eliminate jobs, and will stifle the economy.  The people working under them will lose their jobs.

Biden and Obama’s proposal to hike up taxes by failing to extend expiring tax cuts is often termed Taxmageddon.  This plan could push the U.S. back into a recession, and the Taxmageddon expiration date is fast approaching – January 1, 2013, in two months.  

Summarizing the Obama-Biden Economic Policy:

Here’s a summary of Obama-Biden’s economic plans :

• Obama/Biden will double taxes on the “rich guys” with Taxmageddon.  The 1%ers who now already pay 37% of the nation’s federal tax bill will get to pay 66% of the nation’s tax bill.
  Another recession? Who cares?
• This maneuver will only reduce the deficit by 0.25 Trillion per year (19%)? Who cares?
• The national debt, now $16 Trillion, will continue to grow at the rate of $1 Trillion per year? Who cares?  Not Obama/Biden.
• Small businesses, which provide 65% of the jobs in America will be punished, and will be forced to lay off people? Who cares?
• Despite the ballooning deficit, Obama-Biden will continue spending.
• Whenever Romney proposes spending cuts, Obama-Biden will ridicule the solution most households (or nations) in serious debt ought to use – they will ridicule spending cuts.

• Obama-Biden will particularly ridicule cutting government funds to Big Bird.  No matter that Big Bird is a one-percenter with an annual income of over $50 million per year, about four times higher that what Mitt Romney makes.   Yet Big Bird still gets federal subsidies through PBS, and Obama-Biden don’t want to see those cut.  Who cares?

• Biden-Obama will also ridicule Romney’s plans to cut Planned Parenthood funding.  Planned Parenthood continues to make money, despite its status as a nonprofit organization.  Planned Parenthood is now a $1 Billion Group which makes a profit from it’s primary income generator, abortion, and which still receives 46% of it’s budget from tax money.
  51% of Planned Parenthood’s revenue comes from abortions.
  Two thirds of America opposes federal funding of abortion.  But who cares?  Obama likes abortion, and he loves Planned Parenthood.  Why not subsidize more 1%ers, as long as they are Obama’s friends?

Big Bird and Planned Parenthood were 1%ers.
Solyndra and  a series of over 20 green energy companies which received $4 Billion in federal grants? All 1%ers.
But they are Obama’s friends, so that’s O.K.
Anyone who supports Obama with donations or in the media is Obama’s friend. He will help them all become 1%ers.  And they don’t need to worry about taxation, Obama will make sure his friends obtain or retain tax-exempt status no matter how rich they are, like Big Bird and Planned Parenthood.

Reliability and Honesty

That leads us to reliability and honesty, the second major component of importance in this election.
What good are promised policies, if they are never implemented?
What good are debates, if lies are used in the arguments?

The last two debates, Biden’s and last night Obama’s, were fraught with lies.
Not  only Biden and Obama lied, but moderator Crowley lied and manipulated last night.

Biden’s Debate Lies

Biden was called out on his VP debate lies by lots of people during the past week. 
These include:
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
Breitbart.com:

• Fact Check: Top Ten Worst Lies By Joe Biden in VP Debate
• While Biden Smirked at VP Debate, Obama Admin was Arming Islamic Jihadists in Syria

The National Review Online accused Biden of intellectual dishonesty, and the White House Dossier called Biden a new Batman’s Joker nemesis: The Liar.  Apparently Joe Biden has a history of law-school and campaign-trail dishonesty.

During the Vice Presidential debate, Joe Biden lied about religious freedom, about Libya, about Medicare, lied about his own voting record for the Iraq war and the Afghanistan war, lied about the Iranian nuclear program, lied about Ryan cutting embassy security budget, lied about his previous debate with Sarah Palin, and lied about the details of the Bush tax cuts.  See the above links for details.

Obama’s Debate Lies (and Shocking Gaffe)

Top Ten Lies of the Second Presidential Debate –

Obama lied about tax cuts made by himself, about Romney’s statements in interviews, about Romney’s immigration views, about mammograms provided by Planned Parenthood, about tax breaks for shipping jobs overseas, about oil and gas production on federal lands, about women’s salary discrepancies, about Romney’s intentions toward auto manufacturers, and about his own misrepresentation of the Benghazi attacks as demonstrations against an anti-Islamic video.

Gaffe: Obama claimed that low gas prices cratered our economy and will crater it again if Romney is elected and gets gas prices down.
Yes, you read that right: President Obama seems to believe that low gas prices kill the economy. It’s not Obama’s economic policies that have damaged our economy, it’s the low gas prices that he inherited from Bush that have damaged our economy.  And if you elect Romney, he will lower the gas prices again, and he will thus damage the economy again.
How did that come out of the mouth of the President of the United States?

Candy Crowley’s Debate Lies and Biased Manipulations  

Debate moderator Candy Crowley interrupted Romney when he accused President Obama of not acknowledging that the Benghazi attacks were acts of terror the day after the Benghazi attacks.  She was wrong, admitted she was wrong after the debate, and it turns out that she had been in perfect command of these facts almost 3 weeks ago, but conveniently forgot the facts when jumping to silence Romney during the debate.  She saved Obama with a false fact-check:

While moderating Tuesday’s debate, Crowley forgot the timeline and facts she commanded two weeks earlier, and she inexplicably took President Obama’s side when Obama and Romney were arguing about whether Obama referred to the Libya attacks as acts of terror on the day after. – Breitbart.com 

There has even been a sugggestion that Candy Crowley may have acted in collusion with Obama in this interchange;  the probability that Candy Crowley would have the text of the President’s Rose Garden speech handy and opened to the correct line on such short notice has been questioned.

Candy Crowley also interrupted Romney 28 times during the debate, contrasted with interrupting Obama 9 times, chose 2/3 of the questions to be favorable to Obama, and let Obama have the last word 8 out of 11 times.  She also allowed, for the third debate in a row, the Obama/Biden ticket more debate time than the Romney/Ticket received.
Not too surprising for a biased reporter who had just called Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan the “death wish ticket.”

Summarizing the Debates:

Policy

On Policy, Obama-Biden propose to continue the bulk of their present spending.  The taxation of the “rich” which they propose will generate inadequate revenue to staunch the fiscal bleed, and will risk a second, larger recession.

Romney-Ryan propose the repeal of ObamaCare and tax cuts to spur the growth of business; when business grows, government tax income grows without increasing taxation.

History has shown repeatedly that reduction of tax rates generates more prosperity, so that a larger chunk of the tax burden is taken on by rich people when you lower rich people’s taxes, because their businesses start to flourish.  They not only transact more business, and give the government more taxes, but they also create more jobs.  This phenomenon was observed three times in the 20^th century, in the 1920’s, and under Presidents JFK in the 1960’s and Reagan in the 1980’s;  more tax revenue went back to the federal government each time the taxes were lowered.

The explanation for this seemingly contradictory phenomenon is that rich people reinvest more in their businesses, expand, generate more jobs, keep their businesses in the US, and thus generate a more thriving, larger economy when you lower taxes on the rich.  Taking a smaller percentage from a larger number of rich guys give you more money in the end.

This is why nations do not overtax the rich.  Overtax the rich, and they either go away or they close their companies and the nation loses jobs.

Here’s a listing of nations, and how much they tax their wealthiest 10% (for us, that would be those households earning above $80,000 per year): from No Country Leans on Upper-Income Households as Much as the U.S., 2011

Apparently, United States top earners already pay a larger share of taxes than any other industrialized nation. America’s top 10% earners pay 45% of the nation’s tax bill.  President Obama apparently wants to hike up the amount that our top earners will pay to something on the order of 66%.

Any logical person must either challenge President Obama’s grasp of fundamental economics and arithmetic, or must challenge his dedication to his sworn duty to protect this nation as President of the United States.  This has been suggested by some; 2016: The Movie points out the compatibility of President Obama’s actions during the past four years with an anti-colonialist philosophy that seeks to level the global playing field and to take away America’s economic advantage.  But either way, one cannot rationally, based on economy, vote for Obama on Novemer 6th.

So take your pick: would you prefer that your job depends on “rich” people like  small businesses or doctors hiring you and paying a competitive rate for your work, or would you rather have the government take the “rich” people’s money, squander much of it on creating 1%er jobs for previous campaign donors, and dole the rest out to you through meager welfare checks, which expire and no longer regard you as unemployed after 26 weeks, as Obama is doing now?

Reliance on our rich people for jobs = democracy.

Reliance on the government for jobs = communism.

Reliability and Trust

Neither Obama, nor Biden have given America any reason to believe anything they promise.  Few of their 2008 campaign promises have been fulfilled, and their debates are laced with lies and fallacious attacks on Romney/Ryan, rather than a focus on a serious plan for repairing the economy.

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Sorry fellas, the Taxing the Rich slogan won’t work.  We just disproved it with arithmetic, and Obama has disproved it in practice during the last four years.   The Taxing the Rich slogan will only get you votes from those who don’t know their arithmetic, and who are bitter, envious, and who want to bite the hand that feeds them.

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Results Not Too Surprising

In the light of all that has been discussed, it is not surprising that as the debates progress, Romney is beginning to beat Obama in the polls.

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And speaking of polls, and speaking as a person who has hung up the telephone on at least 40 pollsters during the last few months, and who as a conservative, in  Clint Eastwood’s words, “plays it closer to the vest,” and as someone who has previously blogged about the disparity between poll results and election results, particularly in the Walker Recall Re-Election, I would not be surprised if President Obama is ousted by a landslide less than 3 weeks from now, by a much larger margin than any poll ever shows.  Conservatives often refrain from participating in polls.

How sadly right Clint Eastwood was about the empty chair!
“When someone does not do their job, we have to let them go.”

Addendum:

Confirming my suspicions, later today, two pieces of news came out:

• Romney now has a 7-point lead over Obama.
• Bill Clinton is beginning to acknowledge that the economy “is not fixed.”

Bottom Line: It’s Not Fixed

President Clinton, during a campaign event in Ohio today,  acknowledged that the economy is not fixed:

Governor Romney’s argument is “We’re not fixed, so fire him, and put me in.”  It is true, we’re not fixed.  When President Obama looked into the eyes of that man, who said, in the debate, “I had so much hope four years ago, and I don’t now,” I though he was going to cry.  Because he knows that it’s not fixed. – Bill Clinton

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The Economy: It’s Not Fixed

Let’s fix it:

You Know You Are In Madison, Wisconsin, When…

Here’s a Home Improvement:

Report Card Time:

or
Downgrading the United States

 O.K., we know we’ve been slacking a bit…

But now, two new, major and historical national downgrades have just arrived.

Two New Downgrades

We’ve hardly recovered from the August news from Standard and Poor’s that our national credit rating has been reduced for the first time in United States history.

Now, our global rating on restrictions on religious freedom has just been downgraded, for the first time ever.
Yes, the nation initially founded by pilgrims on the Mayflower fleeing Europe to seek religious freedom, has just been demoted officially and lags behind 95 other countries globally in religious freedom.  The report, by PEW Research, a nonpartisan fact tank,is entitled Rising Tide of Restrictions on Religion.

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BTW, this is only the beginning of the religious freedom downgrade; the downgrade is based on data through only mid-2010, before ObamaCare was passed, before the HHS or Trojan Horse Mandate was issued, and before 43 Catholic institutions across the country filed suit against the Obama Administration over the HHS Mandate.

For those interested in the details of America’s report-card downgrades, more data is shown below.
But first, let’s discuss the religious freedom downgrade itself, together with it’s implications.

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Restrictions on Religion; So What?

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Restriction or elimination of religion may seem harmless to some.

Some might even fall for the argument that forbidding all public expression of religion might be a kind and tolerant policy to employ.  We would hate to offend the sensibilities of those who don’t believe in God, wouldn’t we?

But such arguments, promoted primarily by a miniscule minority of “progressives” like the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF), are shortsighted, misleading and fallacious.  Such arguments promote the elimination of morality and of ethics from government altogether, the banning of conscience from the voting booth, and the restriction of fairness and justice to private life.
Such arguments fail to acknowledge that Thou Shalt Not Kill, Steal, Lie… are essential elements of law and order, that chaos would reign if the Ten Commandments were eliminated from our codes of law, and that banning the public mention of religion actually promotes atheism, a religious belief system held by a very small minority of Americans.

Government cannot promote and enforce atheism any more validly than it can promote or enforce any other belief system.  Most atheists understand this, and offer no opposition to the public expression of religion by the majority of Americans, who are religious.  However, fringe radicals who want to eradicate all mention of religion from American life argue semantics; they claim that technically speaking atheism is not a religion, and that it is valid for government to enforce absence of religion rather than freedom of religion.  They are desperate to prove that their minority belief is superior to Judeo-Christian majority belief.

The Power of Religion

Religions have historically been the primary source for moral codes governing and limiting the conduct of human affairs.

The existence of an inviolable moral code places limits on the actions in which all, including the powerful, can engage.
There is a reason why countless despots in history have worked hard to eliminate the influence of religion in their governments; religion challenges not only the humble, but also the powerful, to comply with codes of ethics such as the Ten Commandments.

• Roman Emperors were considered to be Gods. and were unfettered by a higher power.  This system which assigned ultimate authority to a man instead of to an established system of ethics,  spawned monsters like Caligula and Nero, who used, shocked, and terrorized their subjects through unlimited abuses of power.
• Even relatively benign rulers like Henry VIII illustrate the value of the restrictions that religious ethics place on government.   Henry VIII is an example of a King who placed himself over the ethics dictated by the Ten Commandments, who denounced the authority of the Church, and declared himself head of the Church, because he wished to discard an infertile wife.  As a result, Henry VIII bequeathed one of the first divisions in Christendom, as well as centuries of divorce and of broken homes to his nation and to the world.
• The Marxist Soviet Union worked hard to eliminate religion from any public role in life, so that dictators would be free of moral constraints, to do as they wished unchallenged. Unfettered by Christian principles, the atrocities perpetrated by the Soviet Union include the genocides and repressions executed by Stalin, Lenin, and subsequent Soviet leaders.  My grandparents and uncle are included in those deported to Siberia by this regime without any justification.
• President Obama, also seemingly benign, is the first U.S. President to celebrate “unbelievers” publicly.  He is also the first U.S. President to violate religious freedom in the United States with unilateral mandates, which he issues without a popular vote, without the scrutiny of Congress or the Senate, nor of the Supreme Court.  President Obama has managed to promote himself not only above the laws of Christianity on which this nation is based, but also above democracy, which, incidentally, is also based on religion; on inalienable rights endowed on us by our Creator.
  President Obama unilaterally promotes abortion, homosexual marriage, and taxation without representation, without input from the nation.  Even the minority which approves President Obama’s mandates is shortsighted, not realizing that the power Obama is trying to establish through autocratic mandates will be used against them by a next President who might not be of their choosing.

Religion provides not only a fixed inviolable code of ethics, which apply equally to government and to the governed, but religion also provides a mechanism for giving the man in the street power.  Yes, contrary to what despots like Lenin or Marx would have us think (“Religion is the opiate of the people”), religion is actually the only mechanism that provides power to the people, power against which no government can win. History has shown us many men who, backed by God, stood against incredible odds and won.

Citizens, with the help of God (about whom they learn through religion), can judge the actions of government, can organize, can resist, and can even find the courage to die for the principles in which they believe.  Patrick Henry’s “Give me liberty, or give me death” was not an empty phrase, but was a very sincere and powerful statement, epitomizing the spirit of the American people.Over two hundred years have passed, but the spirit of the American people, as well as their love for God, remain.

Despots fear religion, because religion is the only tool that gives unarmed masses the moral authority, the courage and the power to resist autocratic regimes.

Religious Polish people, following a visit from their Pope John Paul II, through Solidarity, with the assistance of President Reagan, a “born-again Christian,” brought the Soviet Union to it’s knees in 1991 without bloodshed.    
– see The Holy Alliance

Incidentally, the “secret weapon” which allowed Mitt Romney to trample Barack Obama during last week’s Presidential debate, is the moral authority and the courage in which Mitt Romney represented the people of America.

Obama and Neutralizing Religion

Whether intentional or not, President Obama is firmly set on a course that would annihilate the power of religion in the United States.

Obama’s HHS Mandate, if not reversed, will impose penalties on all Catholic institutions, penalties which will bankrupt all Catholic institutions within two years.
Catholics, 25% of America, will no longer be able to operate hospitals, schools, or businesses of any kind, because they cannot ethically provide abortifacients to their employees.  Catholics will also be unable to be nurses, pharmacists or doctors, as abortion-related mandates eliminate all Christians from employment in medical professions.
Obama’s autocratic insertion of abortion into ObamaCare via the HHS Mandate, in violation of his own Executive order and promise to Bart Stupak and his 11 Democrats, will force the federal funding of abortion on America, something that 2/3 of America opposes. In Bart Stupak’s own words, Barak Obama is the “most pro-abortion President ever,” against the wishes of two thirds of America.
Obama’s initial attacks seem focused primarily on Catholics; Obama views Catholic teaching on contraception an Achilles heel, an area where his attack on the authority of conscience and of religion may have some success.  The ethical problems posed by contraception are something that most Americans have not studied, and on which most Americans are not likely to support the Catholic Church.

If the strike at this Achilles heel were to be successful, however, the precedent will have been established which allows further violation of religious conscience rights by government mandate, permitting Obama (and all subsequent Presidents) to rise above the consciences of all Americans, above all religious teachings, and above the will of the people.

Most religious leaders know this, and have joined in supporting the Catholic Chruch against the HHS or Trojan Horse Mandate.

If You Don’t Want Further Downgrades

Bottom Line:

The Religious Freedom downgrade is serious.
The Religious Freedom downgrade is likely to get much worse if President Obama is reelected and if ObamaCare and the HHS Mandate are not overturned.

Flunking religion is actually related to flunking all the other subjects: credit rating, economy, reproductive health, health care quality, education, unemployment, quality of family life, crime rate and drug arrests.  All of these are affected by our commitment to ethics and to justice.

.Whether President Obama’s trampling of the religious freedom of Americans is unintentional or purposeful, it must be reversed if this nation is to prosper.
If you want to repair the American Report Card, vote for Romney/Ryan, who will reorient this nation toward those Judeo-Christian values which are still codified in our laws and on which most of us still agree:  life, liberty, property, responsibility, fairness, truth, and the rule of democracy.

Some Claim That President Obama Wants Us to Flunk

There are documented and credible claims, based on President Obama’s autobiography and on an analysis of his history that Barak Obama subscribes to an anti-colonialist philosophy.

Anti-colonialism vilifies the United States as a nation which exploits other nations unfairly, and which must be taken down a peg to equalize global opportunity for other nations.   Anti-colonialism does not acknowledge that hard work and ethical values got the US to where we are today, and that the same opportunity is available to other nations.  The philosophy assumes that there is a fixed amount of prosperity in the world, and that  in order for other nations to prosper, the United States must be demoted.

The philosophy is flawed, just as the claim that my building of a

ENVY

great log cabin or learning of a new language prevents my neighbor from building a great log cabin or learning a new language, is flawed.

The fallacy is fed by envy, which wants to destroy what it does not have instead of working to get it.  See Taxing the Rich or Thou Shalt Not Kill Thy Neighbor’s Cow, or Does President Obama Know How to Count?

These claims about Barack Obama are documented by Dinesh D’Souza in his film 2016: Obama’s America. The film, stating about Obama “LOVE HIM, HATE HIM, YOU DON’T KNOW HIM,” has become the highest grossing documentary in 2012, grossing over $30 million, and surpassing Michael Moore’s Sicko, Bowling for Columbine, and Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth. Despite the obvious box office success of this movie, the mainstream media, supporters of Obama, have virtually ignored the movie.  The movie is still playing in numerous theaters, and continues to attract both supporters and critics of Barack Obama.

If we have an anti-colonialist President at the helm as the movie 2016 claims, our report card will continue to degenerate even more rapidly; not surprisingly, if that is the goal of the Commander in Chief.  A suicide-bomber who intentionally crashes an entire nation out of envy and resentment.  Particulary ironic, for a man who has benefited so much personally from the opportunities in America and who quite obviously enjoys the luxuries that can be acquired here.

More Details – Where Exactly are We Slipping?

Let’s take a look at the major areas in which our national report card has been slipping.  We start with more detail on the two most recent downgrades, this year, following the impact of President Obama’s first term:

• the first downgrade ever in credit rating
  and
• the first downgrade ever in religious freedom.

Grading Our Credit Status- First Downgrade in History

The US credit rating got downgraded for the first time in history on August 5, 2011, immediately after Congress voted to raise the debt ceiling in the Budget Control Act on August 2, 2011.
This downgrade was the result of President Obama’s “stimulus” spending, in which he singlehandedly increased the total previous national debt by 51%, in less than 4 years, more than doubling the spending rate of any President, including his predecessor Bush.

The borrowing of an additional 36% of the gross national product    in less than 4 years damages a nation’s credit rating, because other nations begin to worry whether the US will ever be able to pay back their loans.

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Already, the US per capita government debt is worse than that of Greece.

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A continuation of President Obama’s proposed budget would bring the national debt to $25 trillion in ten years.

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This is why conservatives like Vice Presidential candidate Paul Ryan are desperate to reverse US spending, and to stop the accumulation of debt.

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Grading on Religion

Next, we examine the Pew Research evaluation of restriction of religious freedom exercised by governments.

Pew Research is a nonpartisan fact tank that provides information on the issues, attitudes and trends shaping America and the world. The center conducts public opinion polling, demographic studies, media content analysis and other empirical social science research. It does not take positions on policy issues.

Religious Freedom Grades- First Downgrade in History

Now, under President Obama, for the first time in history, the U.S. just got a downgrade in religious freedom this week. 
We are no longer among the freest nations on earth when it comes to religion.
Moreover, this downgrade in religious freedom is only the beginning of potential future downgrades, since it only reflects President Obama’s policies through mid 2010, prior to his issuance of the HHS Mandate in 2011.  The HHS Mandate violates religious freedom further, is opposed by 2/3 of America, and is likely to damage US religious freedom scores even more.

The United States, the nation founded to establish religious freedom for those fleeing religious persecution in Europe, has just been downgraded on religious freedom, and now lags behind many developing nations, and behind previous Soviet satellites such as Lithuania, in governmental tolerance of religion.

How Big Is the Downgrade?

Pew Research grades the nations of the world from 0 to 10 with Government Restriction Index (GRI) Scores:

The United States GRI increased from 1.6 in 2009 to 2.7 in 2010.

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The change is considered significant, represents almost a doubling in the level of religious restriction in our country, and shifts the United States from the Low Religious Restriction into the Moderate Religious Restriction category.

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How Do We Compare With Other Nations on Religious Freedom?

Following the first half of Barack Obama’s term of office, we abruptly joined 16 countries whose scores increased by more than one point in one year, indicating a measurable increase in Governmental hostility to religion.  We can probably expect a further downgrade when President Obama’s HHS Mandate of 2011 is included in future scores, and when the obligatory abortion provisions of ObamaCare kick in.
Now Australia, Canada, Japan, South Africa, and 91 additional countries have better religious freedom scores than we do, and we have joined the Moderate Religious Restriction category with Cambodia, Lebanon, Thailand, the United Arab Emirates, among others.

Will we be classified with Pakistan, Libya and Iraq in the Very High Religious Restriction category next year, when the HHS Mandate has imposed crippling tax penalties on all Catholic and Evangelical employers?

Where Else Are We Failing, as a Nation?

Economy:

Along with our Credit rating downgrade comes an economy downgrade.

The US was still #1 in the Global Competitiveness Report (GCR) in 2008-2009, before President Obama took office.  In the last four years, however, the US has dropped to #7, during the fourth year of President Obama’s term.

Reproductive Health:

We have fallen from #12 lowest infant mortality in the world in 1960 to # 41 today in 2012.

Before the Obama administrations recent attempts to redefine reproductive health, reproductive health used to be measured by infant mortality.  The lower infant mortality, the better a nation’s “reproductive health” rating.
Now, it seems that the Obama administration, after issuing Executive Orders promising to exclude abortion from ObamaCare, has reversed itself.  Now Obama insists that abortion, sterilization and contraception free of charge be rights guaranteed to all women, and includes these services in ObamaCare, via the HHS Mandate.

As abortion, contraception and screening and treatment for STDs are added to the expanding list of “reproductive rights” now guaranteed for the first time to be free of cost by the Obama administration, the birth and health of newborn infants continues to be de-prioritized, and the decline of our infant mortality in the United States has not kept pace with declines in other countries.

A nation that kills its own children cannot prosper.

Health Care:

Our United States healthcare system, once among the best in the world,  has fallen to #37 world-wide.

Education:

In the 1950s and 1960s America led the world in K-12 education, just as we led the world with our economy.
Now, were have dropped to #25 among 34 nations.

Unemployment:

Today, we have been unable to get below an 8.3% unemployment rate since Barack Obama took office four years ago in 2009.
(This week’s news claiming a drop just below 8% is challenged by experts on both sides.)
By contrast, in the 1950s, unemployment averaged 4.5% 

Stability of Family Life; Divorce Rate:

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Crime Rates, Drug Arrests

Crime rates escalating in the United States

Drug arrests escalating in the United States

 What Do You Do When You’re on the Verge of Flunking?

How Do You Pull Up Your Grades in the Last Quarter?

You buckle down, and figure out that school is not a place for meeting friends, hanging out, eating candy and mocking teachers.
You decide where you want to go, how much time you have, who can help you, and what the essentials are.
Do your work.
Stop making excuses.
Be responsible.
Do extra work.
Develop a better work ethic.
Pray.
Resolve to develop some new habits.
Focus in class.
Attend class.
Don’t fool around.
Don’t slack.
Follow the rules.
Respect your teacher and respect the students who are successful; ask them for help.
Stop complaining, and start working.

The Same Advice Works for a Nation:

Find a guy who is responsible and successful, and listen to what he says.
It worked for Wisconsin with Scott Walker.
It can work for the US with Romney/Ryan.

Vote Romney/Ryan on November 6^th,
like your life depended on it. ( It does.)